5 Remarkable Ways Women Are Celebrated at Apple

Today is International Women’s Day, and people and organizations across the globe are showing their support — Apple included.

While, at first, a day commemorating the movement for women’s rights, March 8 has become a day where the achievements of women across the board can be highlighted. Here are several ways that Apple has or is celebrating women through its various initiatives and endeavors.

5 By Highlighting Women

Each year, Apple uses its various storefronts to highlight a number of works made by women — and this year is no different. Apple celebrated women by showing off a curated list of songs, movies, TV shows, books and podcasts inspired by, made about, or made by women.

That includes a number of banners and content hubs across Apple Music, iTunes and iBooks, as well as a new Apple Watch Activity Challenge in honor of International Women’s Day. But the company’s support isn’t just relegated to the digital world. Apple is also hosting a number of Today and Apple sessions and other events celebrating and supporting women in the community.

4 Supporting Its Supply Chain

Apple isn’t just committed to supporting women in the U.S. On Wednesday, the firm released its annual Supplier Responsibility Report, which showed progress across a number of categories. The company also took the chance to unveil a new initiative aimed at women.

The company is supporting the creation of a new women’s health program, which has apparently already kicked off at some of its suppliers’ facilities in China and India. Those programs include curriculum on self-examination for early cancer detection, nutrition, personal care and maternal health.

3 Through Its Staffing

It’s no secret that women are underrepresented in the technology field. That’s true even at Apple. In 2017, Apple’s global workforce was 68 percent male and 32 percent female — but that’s a statistic that’s steadily improving at the Cupertino firm. In recent years, Apple has taken to placing more women in positions of leadership at the company, too.

The company says that 39 percent of its leaders under 30 are women, representing a 3 percent increase year-over-year. And that’s not accounting for the influence of individual leaders, like Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s head of retail and one of the most senior executives at the company. Ahrendts recently landed at the top of CNET’s list of “Women Who Inspire Us.”

Apple has also used its platforms to raise money for other charities, too. The company’s Apple Pay payment system also makes it easy for customers to donate funds to the nonprofit of their choice, right through the mobile-based platform. For more information on how to donate to the Malala Fund, you can use this link on the Malala webpage.

1 By Supporting Equality Across the Board

Apple’s commitment to supporting diversity and equality isn’t narrow, either. The company has publicly stated its support for various groups, including the LGBTQ community and immigrants. Apple CEO Tim Cook has himself gone on to champion various causes, and the firm isn’t known to shy away from taking a political stand.

By keeping its focus broad, the company is able to do more to support equality and diversity across the board. For a company as vast and powerful as Apple, its decisions carry weight. And in an industry like the technology field, which has been accused of being fairly homogenous, that will likely prove to be incredibly important as time goes on.